By: J.T. Schilling
We just recently passed April 2nd which is observed as World Autism Awareness Day! This day is typically recognized as the kickoff for National Autism Awareness Month as a whole! For many, April is a month that focuses on supporting those with autism, increasing visibility for the autistic community, and generally promoting education and acceptance for those that are not in the autistic community. Considering how much false information and myths that are out there regarding autism, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to effectively celebrate this month. With this in mind, I have put together a list of five tips on where to begin for anyone who is looking to contribute to this month and support the community!
1. Educate Yourself
A key to being able to support those with autism is to learn. We can always educate ourselves further in one area or the next. Some areas to look into that we recommend are the biological background of autism, ways to be an ally, stories of those with autism, and resources that have been created to support those with autism. The more we learn the more we will be able to sympathize, understand, and eventually educate others as well!
2. Educate Others
Once we have begun to educate ourselves, we are more equipped to educate others! This can be done in a variety of ways from sharing relevant social media posts online to physically talking to and teaching those in our networks. By educating others, we are able to directly make an impact by spreading awareness to those we already know.
3. Support Autism Friendly Businesses
There are a variety of businesses, with more and more being created as we progress, that have a focus on providing employment and other support to those with autism. You can easily research and discover more of these business with a quick Google search! Typically, these businesses are quite proud and open about how they support those with autism, making it easy to see where you can shop that will indirectly support the autistic community.
4. Lead with Kindness
This tip is a good rule to follow daily with everyone! However, at the end of the day we are all human and can easily slip up from time to time. That’s ok! What is important is to continue to attempt to approach difficult situations, unknown territory, and other communities with kindness and keeping it at the forefront of our decision making.
5. Donate (If You Can)
These are trying times for everyone and everyone has a different relationship with money and have varying wiggle room. However, for any of those with the ability to do so, donations of any amount are always greatly appreciated and can go a long way! I have provided links to multiple places that take donations in case anyone is interested!
https://www.autismspeaks.org/donate-to-autism-speaks
https://www.globalautismproject.org/donate-now/
Sources
https://researchautism.org/get-involved-in-autism-awareness-month/